


In a Snap

by jomlette



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comedy, F/M, First Dates, Flower Shops, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, Snapchat, Texting, allura is so beautiful I cry, carnivals, keith means so well, wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 14:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13296399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jomlette/pseuds/jomlette
Summary: Shiroto Keith K.I messed upReal badThat girl from the gym found my snapchat and i’m pretty sure i’m going to die tonightAllura finds Shiro on snapchat, and Shiro doesn't know what to do in this sudden predicament.





	In a Snap

**Author's Note:**

> For the Shallura Secret Santa, tumblr user @nigiyakapepper. Be on the look out, I may be shuffling and adding some things to this fic. Regardless, I hope you like it :)
> 
> Edit: added in some minor things to help with the flow!

**Shiro** _to Keith K._

Keith.

Keeeeeith.

Please respond i’m raelly panicking right now

really*

 

_Keith K. is typing…_

 

**Keith K.**

not panicked enough since you corrected yourself

whats up?

 

 **Shiro** _to Keith K._

I messed up

Real bad

That girl from the gym found my snapchat and i’m pretty sure i’m going to die tonight

 

_Keith K. is typing…_

 

Shiro’s thumbs fidget over the screen of his phone as he anxiously waits for Keith’s response. Don’t get him wrong, they’ve been friends for a number of years now, totally ride or die, but sometimes he just wants to scream at how god awful slow he is at typing. Can’t he feel his literal crisis through the screen?

 

**Keith K.**

the silver haired girl?

 

 **Shiro** _to Keith K._

How did she even find me?????

 

**Keith K.**

calm down its probably because of quick add

 

 **Shiro** _to Keith K._

I will not calm down because I turned off that feature now please help

I am three seconds away from spontaneously combusting

What should I do?

Instead of waiting for Keith to finish typing, he instead taps back onto the ‘added me’ page, where a little bitmoji with a single red heart floating above it awaited him. That little red heart seemed to taunt him. ‘You coward’, it screamed, ‘I bet you won’t’. Well, this may be because he’s been spending too much time with Keith, but there was no way he was backing down from that challenge. Even if there was a high probability he was self projecting onto a bitmoji out of all things.

 

Shiro presses the add button.

 

_Allura_JS is typing…_

 

She was typing! The girl, whose name seemed to be Allura from her username, made Shiro’s cold sweat go closer to a full out panic. What was he supposed to say? _Hey, we go to the same gym and I may or may not have adjusted my workout schedule just so that I could see you lift barbells almost twice the weight of mine._ As if.

 

**Allura_JS**

hi!

 

..oh. Well, that was somewhat anticlimactic but Shiro was in no way complaining. Her greeting was friendly and inviting, and he’ll take that chance to start a decent first conversation.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

Hello!

This is kind of strange haha but

I think we go to the same gym?

 

**Allura_JS**

oh

i know haha

 

Shiro freezes up. If she knows that they go to the same gym, then does she know about his heavyweight crush on her? He cringes at his thoughts. The term ‘crush’ made the whole situation feel juvenile. Texting shouldn’t make him feel like a meekly high schooler again.

 

**Allura_JS**

what’s up?

 

He stared at the words for a second, until realizing that he needed to respond. Instead of typing a response, this time he took a casual selfie. A casual selfie that maybe took about three or four takes for optimal casualness.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

_[Shiro sitting on a couch, hair tousled with a lazy smile]_

Night in watching netflix, what about you?

 

**Allura_JS**

_[Allura with her hair down, two mice on her shoulders, one in her hand, one on her head]_

babysitting lol

 

The urge to screenshot was strong, but Shiro resisted.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

_[Shiro with a full grin]_

Having fun?

 

**Allura_JS**

_[Allura, now closer to the camera, cheek to cheek with one of the mice]_

these guys are always keeping me on my toes, but i still love them dearly <3

 

He contemplates what to send, but Allura beats him to it.

 

**Allura_JS**

_[a blurry front camera scene of allura’s hand reaching out to a small blurry figure]_

oh no they ran off I gotta find them

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

Looks like you’re pretty busy

 

_Allura_JS is typing..._

 

**Allura_JS**

Im sorry my uncle would actually get really mad if I lost the mice

I gotta go

 

Shiro deflates a bit. He sends a laughing emoji and the words ‘good luck!’ to her and immediately lets out a breath he hadn’t meant to hold in. It had gone pretty well, considering all things. He was lucky enough to see Allura’s face in greater detail, so he’s not complaining about the brief exchange. He taps on Keith’s name to see the message he accidentally left unseen.

 

**Keith K.**

before you die at least talk to her once

shiro

takashi?

god please tell me you didn’t spontaneously combust on me

im assuming your silence is you ignoring me in favour of the girl

offended

but proud

tell me the details

 

He leaves Keith on open just because he’s sadistic like that.

 

-

 

Waking up the next day to his phone buzzing was a pleasant surprise, although leaving him puzzled. Neither Keith, Matt nor Pidge were ever awake before 10 AM. His eyebrows shoot through the roof when Allura’s username greets him. It was a picture.

 

**Allura_JS**

_[A body selfie, Allura wearing leggings and a tank top, flexing her arm]_

 

Okay, he _did not_ expect that kind of photo so early on in their friendship, if that was what they even were. Was this normal? He taps her name again, seeing she sent a video this time.

 

**Allura_JS**

_[Another person is holding the camera, as Allura is seen deadlifting a large barbell]_

no sweat :)

 

No matter how many times he sees her lifting, she never ceases to leave him in awe.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

_[Shiro’s face is in surprise, jaw dropped]_

You’re amazing!

 

**Allura_JS**

_[Allura, eyes closed, flower crown filter]_

<3<3

 

Even as the selfie eventually disappears Shiro is still left smiling.

 

The next few weeks things were steady. Shiro chickened out the next day and skipped going to the gym, and the day after that, and the day after that. When questioned, he simply said it was his job keeping him tired. Allura gladly related.

 

They would spend at least an hour a day just talking over snapchat, mundane things mostly. Allura’s mice. Her close relationship with her uncle Coran. Her job as Coran’s assistant in their small florist business. His fascination with space. His old memories of Japan. His coworker’s daily complaints about the office being too stuffy and bland.

 

Of course there were things that were left unspoken, like Shiro’s prosthetic. His facial scar. The fact that Allura lived with Coran, who did not appear to be her uncle by blood. Her insistent avoidance of the topic of family outside of the aforementioned man. That was fine. The two hadn’t ever talked in person, after all.

 

Speaking of, Shiro wanted to change that. The right moment just needed to come along.

 

-

 

Keith was sleeping over, as was the norm on a friday night. Apparently even as grown adults with semi functioning jobs, the man refused to go a week without seeing him in person at least once. Especially recently Keith was adamant on knowing what Shiro was up to. Somewhat odd but still within the realm of Normal Keith Behaviour.

 

“Are you sure about not going to the carnival?” Keith pressed, not looking up from his phone screen.

 

“Not all of us can live an aesthetically pleasing life as a bookshop owner, sadly.” That earns him a pillow to the face. He laughs it off.

 

“Matt wants to see you again, and you’ve been spending too much time alone, Shiro. A night out could be good for you.”

 

Shiro points a finger. “You, of all people are not allowed to say such things, Mr ‘disappears for a week in a desert because Lance was annoying him’.” Keith swats at the finger, and Shiro playfully shoves him nearly off the couch. “You can go without me. Carnivals aren’t really my thing.”

 

Before Keith could retort, a buzz comes from Shiro’s pocket.

 

**Allura_JS**

hey

you busy?

 

“Hey Keith, come in for a selfie,” he says, not waiting for Keith to move and leaning closer himself so that they are both shown on Shiro’s screen.

 

“You’re bad at selfies.” Keith quips, but gives a thin smile anyways as Shiro takes the picture. The older man moves away to presumably type a caption. “Who’re you sending it to?”

 

“Ah, Lura,” he replies offhandedly.

 

Shiro stiffens as he realizes what he just said. He looks up to see Keith’s smirk and raised eyebrow. “Oh, so it’s ‘Lura’ now? Not Allura? Not ‘cute girl from the gym who could kill me in one fell swoop of her fist and I’d thank her’? Not---” He doesn’t get to finish as Shiro silences him with the same pillow.

 

“Quiet you.” Just to irk him, Shiro scribbles Keith’s face and hair out of the picture.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

_[Shiro smiling beside a mass blob of red scribbling]_

Was having a fun night with a friend, but he was mean. What’s up?

 

_Allura_JS is typing…_

 

**Allura_JS**

sorry if this is too sudden but

do you want to go to the carnival in town with me? tomorrow?

 

Seeing as Keith was back to being glued to his own phone, Shiro settles back onto the couch. This was an opportunity to finally see Allura! In person! He couldn’t pass it up.

 

 **Shiro** _to Allura_JS_

Sure! I don’t see why not

You want me to pick you up at your apartment or

 

**Allura_JS**

no its fine i can meet you there?

6pm? I can wait near the boardwalk

 

He sends an enthusiastic ‘Ok!’ and Allura replies with a smile emoji fifteen seconds later. He never knew how happy an arranged group of pixels could make him.

 

A sudden weight to his side catches him off guard, the perpetrator using the surprise to swipe the phone out of his hands. The couple seconds Keith gets before Shiro steals his phone back is enough for the man to have sped read through his whole conversation.

 

“‘Carnivals aren’t really my thing’ my ass. You’re really into her, aren’t you?”

 

Well, he couldn’t really deny that, so he resorts to attempting to suffocate Keith with blankets and cushioning.

 

-

 

“Allura! Over here!”

 

Shiro strided to where Allura was standing on the boardwalk. Her face was unusually solemn, but immediately lit up as she noticed him approaching.

 

“Uh,” now standing in front of her, he felt shy and unsure, “hi.”

 

“Hi.” She mirrors. “You look different outside of workout shirts and gym shorts.”

 

Shiro crosses his arms in slight embarrassment. “I’m hoping it’s a good different?”

 

“Definitely a good different.” She takes a hold of his hand. “Shall we?”

 

Allura leads him slowly through the carnival. Starting with the ring toss, where he wins her a small stuffed bear, things roll smoother from there. Allura gorges herself on the fattiest carnival food, deep fried and topped with whip cream, while Shiro stares on in horror. He soon learns that she absolutely dominates at the sledgehammer and bell game, beating every unsuspecting arrogant man and narrowly beats Shiro himself. She in return is shocked at how he manages to retain his lunch after their turn on the zipper, a ride that relentlessly tosses it’s victims up, down, and sideways.

 

“I’m a space guy, remember?” He says while holding Allura’s hair back as she pukes into the nearest trash can they could find. “I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. Rides like these are how ten year old me trained.”

 

Allura wipes her mouth with a napkin and gives a wobbly smile. “Aw, that’s actually adorable. I’m just imagining a tiny little Shiro wearing a fishbowl over his head like an astronaut space helmet.” Shiro laughs. She straightens herself back up and fixes her hair. “Alright, Starboy. Where to next? And please don’t point to that thing that looks like a literal blender.”

 

Shiro takes pity on her and brings them to the arcade hut. All the classics were there. Pac Man, Dig Dug, Centipede. Name it and it was there. They systematically made their way through all the machines, high score after another, before Allura walks them back out to the boardwalk, where the sunset had passed and the stars were out. They nearly trip over each other, giggling and dancing around like a bunch of teenagers.

 

“This has been an amazing night, Shiro.” Allura’s laughs subside as she stretches, before leaning against the rails. “Thank you for coming with me.”

 

“Thank you for asking me,” Shiro replies sincerely, “It’s been an honour hanging out with you.” He ends the line with a sloppy salute, and Allura stifles a laugh.

 

“No really, thank you for being with me. I really needed this. Out of the house, out of work.” Her face suddenly drops back to solemnity, the way it had been before Shiro arrived. “It’s been a hard month, to say the least.”

 

She blanks out for a moment, staring off into the water. For the first time Shiro notices how...tired she looks. There were bags under her eyes, and creases between her brows, no doubt from stress. She suddenly looked out of place from the joyous buzz and bounce of the carnival a ways behind them.

 

“You wanna talk about it? Only if you want to, of course.” He quickly added the last part, lest he makes her feel cornered.

 

“It’s not that big of a deal really,” she gives a self deprecating laugh, "don't worry."

 

"It's taking a lot out of you, whatever it is."

 

"Yeah, I guess so."

 

The conversations sizzles out and Shiro worries he might've pushed her away, but before he could apologize, Allura lets out a sigh.

 

“Coran’s florist business hasn’t been booming for the past few months." She says. A frustrated hand runs through he hair. "We've been doing all we can to keep it floating, but it’s inevitable now. If we don’t get a big catering job soon, we’ll be bankrupt. We’ll be in the dirt and the last remnants of my father will be--” she goes quiet.

 

Shiro looks away and offers her a moment to collect herself. Offering her a hug suddenly seemed too personal, too intimate. He could gather enough from what she said, for loss was something he knew too well. His prosthesis ached.

 

The energy of the date was long gone, and two walk out of the carnival in silence. It was around ten and plenty dark, so he offered to walk her home. She just gives a brief shake of her head before saying her goodbyes.

 

He sends her a simple text of “goodnight”. While not receiving a reply like he wanted to, he did notice his message was opened, and that was enough for him to sleep peacefully.

 

Shiro had a plan.

 

-

 

That Monday, Shiro enters a little innocuous building on a street corner. The sign in front called the shop ‘Juniberry Floral’. He hoped they had the right place. If not, he could blame snapmap.

 

Just his luck, at the front desk, making a simple rose and tulip arrangement, was Allura. “Welcome to Juniberry Floral, how can I---” she stiffened as soon as she saw just who she was talking to.

 

He walks up closer to the counter. “We’ve got a job for you. A long term one.”

 

Allura blinks. “What?”

 

“Well,” he brings his hand up to scratch behind his head, “My co worker’s complaints about our boring work space finally got to me. I brought it to the attention of some higher ups, and they put me in charge of finding someone to decorate.” Her face lightens up with understanding. “Will Juniberry Floral be willing to decorate all ten stories of my office building?”

 

Allura’s stunned silence urges him to ramble. “Um, you should know that the building is incredibly spacious, so this project might take a few months to do. As far as I know no one is allergic to pollen in the building, but my co worker, his name is Matt, he’s allergic to peanuts, which is _incredibly_ ironic because his sister religiously eats peanut butter--”

 

Allura leans over the counter, enveloping Shiro in a crushing hug. It would’ve been the best thing ever if not for the fact that she could legitimately strangle him like that. She finally lets go and screams.

 

“I can’t believe it! Holy crap!” Her infectious excitement gets Shiro buzzed too. “I can’t believe it. Shiro you’re amazing! Shiro, I’m so happy I could kiss you right now, oh my god.”

 

“Haha, same!” He blurts out, and slams his hands against his face. Allura heard him loud and clear.

 

He feels her hands on his own, and they coax them down so that they’re face to face. They were close enough that Shiro could see the specks of green and another colour he couldn't describe within the calming blue of her eyes. It wasn't long before she leaned forward to give a quick kiss, ending just as fast as it started. Shiro could see Allura scanning his face for a sign of rejection, but he found that thought utterly ridiculous. He went in for another kiss. And another. And another. The kisses soon became laughter and Shiro nuzzles their noses together.

 

“I’m so happy,” he feels her slowing breaths, calm and content. “I’m so glad I met you.”

 

“That was supposed to be my line,” he replies, making her laugh.

 

Their peace is interrupted by a bump and crash from the room down the small corridor, an extension of the shop. Shiro pulls away.

 

“Is that Coran?” He asks.

 

“Nope, just a friend,” she shakes her head fondly, “he’s a bit of a dreamer, but he means well. I told him about my situation and he offered to buy all the flowers in my shop. He was the one who said I should go to the carnival to unwind.”

 

“Sounds better than a friend I have,” Shiro says, thinking of Keith, “he sent me a text this morning asking if I had five hundred dollars he could borrow. Who does that?”

 

Another worrying crash and muffled swears makes Allura groan and rest her forehead against the wood of the counter.

 

“Here I’ll call him out, you two will get along great." She says sarcastically. "Keith! Stop making a mess back there and come out, there’s someone I want you to meet!”

 

“Wait, did you just say Kei--”

 

Walking out of the back, covered in dirt, is Keith, who immediately freezes at the sight of Shiro.

 

"Oh, hey there Shiro," Keith makes a movement akin to finger guns, "fancy meeting you here." He says that as if it was common to be hanging around at the back of flower shops conveniently owned by the woman your friend is pining for.

 

The shop lapses into silence.

 

So a few things go through his mind.

 

One, Shiro now knew how Allura got his snapchat.

 

Two, at the sleepover, he said ‘Lura’, yet Keith called her ‘Allura’. There was no way he would have known her full name from what he said.

 

And three, when Keith brought up the subject of the carnival, he was texting furiously on his phone. Much faster than Shiro had ever seen him type.

 

Oh that sneaky son of a--

 

“Huh? Keith? You know Shiro personally?” Allura questioned. “But you told me you got his snap from a friend of a friend..” she trailed off, having put the pieces together.

 

Keith looks terrified of the ever growing deathly aura around the woman. Shiro’s gaze was probably making it worse.

 

“Um, congratulations?” He offers weakly.

 

“Keith, my buddy, the darkness of my life,” Shiro steps forward, Allura hopping over the counter to join him, “I love you like I would a soulmate, but you are _so_ dead.”

 

Shiro can safely say that his second date with Allura committing metaphorical murder (ie: Chasing Keith into the street and into his bookstore, conveniently only a block away, only ceasing after they knock over an impressive stack of hard copies, much to Pidge’s aggravation.) was one to remember. There were still many skeletons in each of their closets to address, but each would be dealt with in time. Right now, Shiro couldn’t think of a place he’d rather be.

 

Allura might’ve been cute from afar in the gym and pretty in her selfies, but both paled in comparison to the ethereal beauty of her utter and pure happiness. He wasn’t about to spoil that.

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me about how much Voltron has destroyed your life (bc same tbh) on tumblr @kittykattykatherine


End file.
